After the tournament
by DameMaggie
Summary: After the tournament on GOF, Minerva quarrels with Albus, will they manage to solve it before it is too late?Chapter 14 Up!
1. Chapter 1

**After the tournament.**

**Chapter 1: Anger.**

There was a firm knock on the door. Albus lifted his sight from the papers he had been working on during that whole afternoon. He didn´t even have time to answer when a very- well, extremely- angry Minerva McGonagall entered the office. Her face was flushed and he could see the anger and sadness in her eyes from where he was sitting.

"I TOLD YOU DUMBLEDORE!" she yelled "I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN AND YOU DIDN´T LISTEN TO ME!"

"Minerva-please-"

"Let me talk Albus!" she was now on the opposite of his desk, looking at him fiercely. "I told you that you didn´t have to let him compete, and what did you do? You just let him compete, not even thinking about the boy´s safety!"

"Minerva," he stood from his chair, "Harry is not a boy anymore, he´s fourteen and he must know what he will sooner or later will have to face. I didn´t know Voldermort would be waiting for him in the end." He sighed, "The goblet chose him and the rules are simple Minerva, those who are chosen must compete."

"You know full well that he didn´t put his name in there. It is evident that there was someone behind all of that who probably wanted to hurt him and who finally managed to! He was too young to compete and to me he is still a boy!" she stated firmly, "Do you expect to prepare him to defeat the Dark Lord by exposing him to mortal danger? Don´t you think the poor lad has had enough of that already?

For God´s sake Albus, for fifty years, **every **decision you´ve made I´ve accepted, and not only that, I have supported each and every one of them, no matter what! However I don´t seem to have done enough to earn _the_ _great Albus Dumbledore´s_ trust, maybe I should go on like this for, what? another fifty years? Do my points of view mean so little to you? This time, the boy could have died!" she was crying now. "If my opinion means nothing to you then fine, I do not want to be your deputy anymore!"

And with this she stormed out of the room.

TBC.

A/N: hope you liked it please read and give me your opinion.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: Tabby cat.

Albus stood frozen were he was, staring at the door which had just closed behind Minerva. He hadn´t meant to upset her but he wanted her to understand. He realised that he would have to go after her if he didn´t want to lose her.

Minerva meant everything to him, he had always loved her. He always valued her views and opinions but he hadn´t realised how wrong he had been that night at the meeting by dismissing her like he had.

He ran out of his office hoping to catch up with her. She was a fast runner, especially in her animagus form, but he knew he would eventually find her.

"Minerva!" he yelled along the empty corridors, "Minerva please come back! Minerva!"

He looked for her in every possible place but with no success. Albus was destroyed, he had never meant to ignore her feelings or hurt her in any way, yet he always seemed to manage to get things wrong. With each second he spent without her he felt weaker, sadder.

* * *

As he went back to his rooms, he noticed a shadowy figure passing by. For a moment, he thought it could be Minerva, but that was not her way of walking, his Minerva was much more elegant. He couldn´t distinguish the face, but after a moment he recognized the silouette.

"Sybill, is that you?"

"Albus?" the voice asked in return, "Yes, it´s me."

They moved nearer to the windows and in a few seconds they were both able to see eachother, illuminated by the moonlight that came in from outside. Sybill´s face was all red and her eyes were a bit swollen. She was holding her white handkerchief.

"Sybil, dear, what´s wrong? Have you been crying?" he asked concerned.

"I-It´s just t-that-oh Albus!" she broke into tears, and Albus held her offering his comfort.

He stroked her hair in an atempt to make her feel betterand while he was doing this he noticed a presence. Hiding in the shadows was a grey tabby cat staring at them.

TBC.

A/N:Short and sweet. Really sorry for updating so late but I´ve been really busy, I´ll make it up for you, though. Please R&R and I hope you have enjoyed it!!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:What he found.

As soon as Albus spotted the cat, his heart stopped and even though he wanted to comfort Sybill, he needed Minerva back.

"Minerva" he whispered.

Sybill looked up at him,"W-What was that Albus?"

"Um...nothing dear...would you excuse me?"

Before she could give an answer, Albus was gone and she was left in the darkness.

"His aura is strong..."she said to herself, "I can feel it. He is surely upset about something."

Meanwhile, Albus looked for the little cat he had just seen, he was sure that had been Minerva in her animagus form. _Where are you Minerva?Oh, God,what have I done?_

He continued to search for her in every corridor, every dark corner, and each of her favourite places, he even searched the grounds, but he found nothing, she had run away and apparently disappeared.

He didn´t want to give up, he wanted to continue looking until he found her; he didn´t care how long it took, he just wanted to find her, however, it was two in the morning already and he hadn´t had a good night sleep in three days.

He gave one last glance at the grounds to make sure he had searched for her in every single place.

"Oh, Min, I´m so sorry." He said, hoping that she was hidding somewhere near enough for the statement to reach her ears. He turned round and entered the castle. As he headed for his rooms he made sure not to leave a corridor until he had meticulously studied it once more.

He reached his quarters feeling empty and sad and having dropped a few tears in the way. His head was thobbing with pain and all he could think of right now, was Minerva. He sat on his bed, took off his heavy robes and put on his pijamas.

He turned on the lights and took his robes with him to the closet to hang them. While he performed this task he noticed something strange, a scent. He sniffed the air. Suddenly, Albus saw something on the floor inside the wardrobe, something that didn´t use to be there. There, right before him, was a little, tabby cat, curled up and sleeping easily in a corner of his wardrobe.

TBC.

A/N: Hope you liked this one. Please R&R.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Her final decision.**

It took no more than a second for Albus to realise that the cat was Minerva, he couldn´t believe she had chosen that place to sleep though. He took the cat in his arms, trying not to wake it and lay it on the bed were he watched it rest. Albus watched Minerva sleep in her tabby cat form, for about half an hour and finally decided to wake her. He didn´t really want to, but there were certain things that needed to be discussed just there and then.

He stroked her back and her ears.

"Minerva", he whispered, "Minerva, please wake up."

The cat opened its eyes and looked into his blue ones, a little confused.

"Minerva, please turn back into your human form so that we can talk."

Inmediately, the cat stood on the bed and jumped. Seconds later, a tall, elegant woman stood where the cat should have been. She looked sad and miserable but not angry anymore.

"Minerva, please let me-"

"No Albus, I know you well enough and I know what you are going to say already, but let me explain what I´ve got to say before anything else. Let me tell you that my decision is taken, and whatever you say afterwards will not change my mind."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Albus sat on the bed.

"Alright Minerva, go ahead."

"Albus, throughout my career at Hogwarts I´ve met many people, thousands of students and hundreds of techers. However, of all those individuals the only one that I´ve ever truly loved was you." She sighed, "All these years I´ve supported your ideas, I´ve accepted all your decisions, even when I didn´t agree with them. During the war I fought by your side and..." a tear escaped her eyes, "and I tried to show you how much you mean to me. Albus after all this years of friendship I thought that you would care for my opinions. I understand that you wanted to get to the bottom of it and that you wanted to find out why Potter´s name had come out from that Goblet, but for me using the boy as bite was not fair.

Harry might have grown up and I accept that, but that does not justify that he is exposed to mortal danger. What bothers me, is that when I tried to tell you, you didn´t even listen to me. I do not want to continue being obsolete-"

"But Minerva, you´re not-"he tried to object.

"I don´t like people talking when I´m talking Dumbledore." She stated firmly, as if she were talking to one of her students, "Besides after today´s little display with Sybil, everything became clear to me. But I will not continue to be a burden anymore Albus. I´m going back to Scotland."

TBC.

A/N:Sorry for not updating before, I really wanted to, but I´ve had lots to study. Hope you liked this chapter. Still more to come, please R&R.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N:Hi everybody, I had to leave this story for some time. Luckilly I had time to think about how it´s going to continue!:)Hope you like it.

**Chapter 5: Packing.**

Albus stared at her in amazement. He hadn´t expected it, he hadn´t realised about how much harm he had caused her. However, there´d been a part of her speech which had caugh his attention particularly, she´d just told him she loved him. The mere thought of it made all his problems disappear; after fifty long years of waiting, she had told him that she loved him, and now he could tell her the truth without fearing rejection. All this years he hadn´t been capable of telling her about his feelings, but now he could say it aloud:_ I love Minerva McGonagall_. She was really mad at him, though.

"Minerva you can´t go," He told her, finally realising about the magnitude of what she´d just said, "y-you can´t go I-I can´t go on without you."

"Oh, yes you can. You´ve lived wtihout me for many years and I´m more than sure that you won´t miss any of my advices...Snape could be your deputy, since you trust him so much."

Albus´ gaze dropped. He couldn´t do anything; he knew Minerva too well and he knew she was determined and stubborn and she wasn´t going to change her mind, but the mere thought of Minerva leaving was breaking his heart, literally tearing it appart.

"But I love you Minerva, I can´t let you go."

For a moment, she was speechless, apparently not expecting him to return her fellings. She loved the man more than life itself but she just couldn´t go on like this she felt completely neglected and this had not only happened once, it had started many years ago and she was sick to death of it. Minerva looked into those big, blue eyes. That scene she had presenced between Trewlaney and him had destroyed her and now she really asked herself if what Albus was saying was true or it was merely a tchnique to retain her at Hogwarts..._no,no Minerva, Albus would never do that to you...he´s too noble, too kind._

"Albus, my decision is taken, I´m officialy quiting and I´m leaving right now." With that she left the room, slamming the door behind her. Albus didn´t follow her, he was shocked, afraid and brokenhearted.

Albus sat on the edge of his bed, a few tears going down his cheeks. Minerva meant everything and more to him, she was what had kept him going all this years of darkness..._Yes but you could have told her that a few moments ago, you bloody fool_. Wihtout her Hogwarts wold be out of control, he would be out of control and...no she couldn´t _leave forever_, Hogwarts was her home she couldn´t... Minerva _wouldn´t _do that, would she? She had to understand that he had never intended for Harry to get hurt, she had to know that he had listened to her...well, actually he hadn´t. She was right, she had warned him and he had dismissed her like a complete idiot, but she had to know that he would never harm her. She had to know that without her, he would die.

* * *

Minerva walked out of the room and to her quarters; she would do this and she wasn´t comming back. She packed her things slowly, she didn´t want to leave anything behind. Minerva didn´t like using magic to pack, she prefered folding every piece of clothing herself and make sure she knew where everything was. Once she was done with the clothing, she started packing other things: rings, necklaces, perfume, pictures...

When Mienrva started with the pictures, she couldn´t help going through each and everyone of them, however, as soon as she started doing this, she realised it hadn´t been such a good idea. Almost all the pictures contained a smiling Albus_. _It was_ her Albus_, the love of her life, that one person she would give her life for, but that right now, she didn´t want to see ever again. In this picture, she saw her younger self dancing in his strong arms at the Yule Ball. That photograph, had been taken right after the war, at the Order´s old headquarters, everyone was happy, and there was Albus, right beside her, with those eyes...The next one was very old, it was during her first Christmas at the castle as a Professor, with the rest of the staff and of course Albus was there too. One of the pictures was particularly special, it had been taken at the Ministry of Magic, right after Minerva had registered herself as an Animagus. Albus had trained her for some years, and there were the two of them, smiling at eachother, trapped in a single moment of happiness. Minerva put down the pictures and concentrated on resuming her packing.

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six: The key.

Minerva took her rather large trunk and shrunk it with a simple shrinking charm before putting it in her robe´s pocket and heading for the chimney. Before leaving, she took one last look at the room she had inhabited for so many years, not dearing to think who would be the next one to do so. She would probably not see Hogwarts anymore, or Albus for that matter. It was like leaving home, it actually _was_ leaving home, as well as the man she had loved since she was a student and her own students as well. Her heart was screaming with pain, but this couldn´t go on like this, Hogwarts didn´t need her anymore, nor did Albus or her students. They needed someone younger, with new ideas and more energy, someone who could give a nice impression to his or her students unlike herself.

She remembered all those happy days she had shared with Albus, first as her student, then as Professor McGonagall. She recalled his sweet voice and the gentleness of his hands; she valued those moments in which his soft lips had kissed her hand, and that night at the Yule Ball when he had held her in his arms and guided her through the dance floor. Oh, she still recalled what he had said to her on that occasion. _Minerva had just entered the Hall when he met her._

_"Such a beautiful lady shouldn´t go to a dance like this unaccompanied" he´d said._

_"Oh, flattery will get you nowhere Dumbledore." she had replied with a smile._

_"Oh no that was no flattery my dear, I was merely stating the facts." Minerva had had no time to answer as he swept her into his arms for a first dance._

Unfortunately, she would never get the chance to answer his sweet comment, now all of those moments were part of the past.

Minerva took a handful of flew powder in her right hand and prepared for the trip.

"_McGonagall Manor"_she stated clearly, and in less than a second she appeared in another chimney, one she hadn´t seen in a long time. A single tear fell on the ashes bellow her.

* * *

Albus was in his office, his eyes could no longer shed tear, they were already dry. His world had turned into ahses, everything had died in less than a day. His love, his Minerva had left him, apparently forever. _Oh God, I love her so much, I would give my life to have her back. Every ounce of my body needs her, I need her smile, her scent, her skin, her lips...just her... No, I can´t let her go, I must go after her. She said she´d return to Scotland, that means the `McGonagall Manor´._

Albus stood and started pacing along his office, something he often did when he was confused or in deep thought. He would use a portkey, yes that would do. He needed to get his Minerva back or else...

"Albus" Albus turned his gaze towards the man who had spoken his name. "I´m sorry Headmaster, but you didn´t answer my knocks," He apologized.

"That´s quite alright Severus, I was just thinking," Albus replied calmly.

"Is it about Minerva sir?"

Albus looked into Severus´ dark eyes.

"How did you know?"

"Simple, you spend most of your time thinking about her."

"What- You´re not reading my mind, are you Severus? That would be rather impolite of you..."

"Not at all Headmaster," he step towards him and said "I can see it in your eyes."

Albus stared back at him with a confused expression.

Severus sighed, "I do notice, sir, how you look at her: when she comes into the Great Hall, during the Quidditch matches, when she drinks her tea, while correcting essays..."

"Do I stare that much?" Albus asked, surprised that he hadn´t realised that he was being so obvious.

"I must say that you do Headmaster...eh...with all due respect, of course."

Albus turned round and headed for the sofa where he offered Severus a seat. Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, but finally Albus realised that he hadn´t asked Severus why he had come to him.

"Severus, I believe that you didn´t come here just to comment on how intently I tend to watch my deputy, am I wrong?"

"You´re most certainly not Headmaster, but what I´ve come to discuss is quite a delicate matter."

"Well then?" Albus enquired.

"Albus, there´s no easy way to say this...I...I think you have been robbed."

"Robbed? What on earth do you mean?"

"Well," Severus sighed, "Today´s daily Prophet-which I´m aware you don´t tend to read- said that your secret vault at Gringotts had been opened by someone who was not you. Apparently, it was a witch. The strangest thing is that she had the key to your vault."

"What did she take?"

"Half of the money that was in there and a wooden box that was also inside, or at least that´s what the Prophet says," he said.

Albus was as white as a paper.

"Severus, the only witch in this world who has a copy of the key to my vault in case there´s an emergency is..." he couldn´t say it, he didn´t- he could´t believe it.

"Minerva McGonagall," Severus finished for him, "Albus, everyone at Gringotts confirms that she was there that _very same day, _that is Today."

TBC.

A/N: R&R, please tell me what you think:)


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven:Minerva´s past.

Albus´ head was spinning. He put his face in his hands, closing his eyes as he did so. _How can this be? She...Minerva wouldn´t do that to me, not in a million years... but no one else has got the key...did she..._

"Oh, I don´t know Severus, it couldn´t have been her, she...she´s too kind and..."

"Well, yes but she was mad at you, wasn´t she?"

Albus looked at him with an incredulous look, "Are you sure you´re not reading my mind Severus? Because I can´t tell how it is that you know everything about the past 24 hours of my life."

"News travel fast here at Hogwarts; besides, you didn´t expect Minerva to leave without telling Rolanda or Poppy, did you?"

"Mmm, I supose you´re right about that. Still, I don´t get it. How is it possible? Had she needed money she would have asked for it. She knows I would have given her all my money if she had asked for it."

"Maybe she simply didn´t want to ask for it."

"Why not?"

"Because she didn´t want to see your face ever again?"

Albus pondered for an instant.

"Still it isn´t like Minerva to do that."

"What about the wooden box, sir?"

Albus´ eyes widened in surprise. _The wooden box, I had forgotten about it completely!_

"Se-Severus, are you absolutely sure that–that you read a wooden box?"

"Yes Headmaster, completely sure."

"Oh, my God this **is** bad."

"Why? What´s in that box?" Severus inquired.

"Something that she mustn´t see."

"I´m sorry Albus, but you should have thought about it before giving her the _key to your vault_."

"Well yes, but she needs a password to open that box."

"Let me guess...uhh...perhaps, Sherbet Lemons?"

"Severus, if you continue reading my mind I will be forced to-"

"Calm down Albus! You´re just too predictable with passwords. If it´s something Minerva isn´t supposed to see you should have chosen something like _Slytherin_...or...just anything** but **Sherbet Lemons Albus!"

"Well, forgive me but I never thought that Minerva would sneak into my vault without my permission."

"Well, what the bloody hell is it that she isn´t supposed to see?"

Albus hesitated for a moment, he didn´t know if he should tell him about Minerva´s life. But Severus had told him his darkest secrets, and he knew he could trust him in these matters.

"You see, when Minerva was still a student and at the incredible age of 16, she became an animagus. Her mother, Kathleen McGonagall, didn´t like Minerva to study Transfiguration. She said that Transfiguration wasn´t worth time, that it was useless, barely a subject and mostly that it was _inappropriate."_ Albus sighed, stood and started pacing around the room, "When Minerva became an Animagus she was so happy, she thought that maybe with this she would show her mother how wrong she had been about Transfiguration and that with this she had more that just possibilities of becoming an Auror. She was brilliant, Severus, Minerva McGonagall was a natural...

However, when Kathleen found out she hated Minerva for it, she didn´t write to her for the rest of the year. School came to an end and eventualy Minerva returned home. When she came back to Hogwarts, she told me that she wanted to drop the subject. It was then I discovered that her mother...she hit her."

"Kathleen hit her own daughter?"

"Yes, once a week at least, or so Minerva told me. You must know, that Kathleen was drunk twenty-four hours a day Severus. Minerva was devastated, and I did everything I could to comfort her. Some time around February, Minerva received a letter from her mother begging for her forgiveness and with it came a beautiful golden ring with an emerald on it. Apparently, a gift from her mother congratulating her daughter for becoming an Animagus. I must say, that I couldn´t believe the woman had changed in such a way and I had my suspicions about that ring. Of course, Minerva didn´t listen to me, she wanted to believe that everything was be alright now."

Albus stopped pacing and stared at a picture on the wall.

"She wore that ring night and day and I noticed that she had changed. I later found out, that at night, she would have nightmares in which her mother would hit her and she would wake up with marks all over her body, or even bleeding. In few months, she started having constant headaches and becoming seriously ill. She couldn´t concentrate and she was week. After some time, I managed to convince her and she took off that ring. Then, everything disappeared, she was fine and she hated her mother even more that she had before.

Before the year was over, Minerva came to me and begged me to destroy that cursed ring. You see, even without wearing it she could still feel her mothers´ presence when she was around it. So I took it, but I never destroyed it. I thought that just by keeping it safe and away from Minerva it would be fine, and that I wouldn´t have to deal with it´s dark magic or any of the problems that it could cause. You know how dark magic is Severus, I couldn´t take that risk."

"So that´s what you keep in the box."

"Yes. If Minerva ever finds out, she will hate me for it, she´ll never forgive me."

"Could it put her in danger? What if that magic starts having effect on her again?"

"No, Kathleen died years ago, there´s no longer a bond that ties Minerva to the ring and her mother´s hatred."

"Well mate, all I can say is that if she finds out she´ll hex you into next millenium and you know that."

TBC.

A/N:Hope you liked it, please R&R.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter eight:visiting Minerva.

The following afternoon, Minerva sat on the couch right in front of the fireplace. All of a sudden, a wave of green fire emerged only to reveal Albus Dumbledore...sorry, a furious Albus Dumbledore.

"Albus," Minerva jumped to her feet, "What in Merlin´s name are you doing here!?"

Albus stepped forwards and looked into her eyes. He was clearly angry, Minerva had never seen that look on his face. Clearly there was something wrong. As soon as Minerva´s eyes met his, she felt cold inside, she felt fear, and for a moment she felt like she wanted to cry. She fell back on the couch.

"A-A-Albus w-what-"

"You want to know what I´m doing here Professor McGonagall!? Actually, ex-Professor McGonagall."

"Yes, I´d like that very much." Minerva said firmly, regaining her courage, "I don´t recall giving you permission to enter my domain Dumbledore!"

"Oh, of course not! But I didn´t give you permission to assault my vault either!"

Minerva was distraught._ Vault? what vault? He isn´t talking about the one at Gringotts, is he?_ Minerva was totally confused, she hadn´t used the key he´d given her in...well, actually she had never used it.

"What on earth are you talking about!?" she asked.

"I´m talking about this!" Albus shouted, throwing something on the couch beside Minerva.

She took it up and noticed that it was `The Daily Prophet´. Her eyes quickly scanned the front page. Her heart beating fast and all signs of colour draining her cheeks. Suddenly, she couldn´t hold back the tears anymore. _What is this artcle talking about? I wasn´t in Gringotts yesterday, and I most certainly haven´t robbed Albus!_ She tried to calm herself down, but she new that her brain was desperately looking for an answer to all of this. She saw the picture of herself entering Gringotts.

"This is fake! How can you believe this rubbish!?" Minerva raised to her feet again and walked towards the firplace, seeking some light to take a good look at the picture.

"Minerva, the _only_ human being who´s got a key to my vault, aside from myself, is you!"

Minerva didn´t answer.

"I trusted you Minerva! If you needed money you should have asked for it!"

"But I-"

"No!" he yelled, "I don´t want to hear any excuses, I want _my_ key back, and I want _my_ money and _my _box! Especially my box!"

"HEAR ME ALBUS PERCIVAL WOLFRIC BRIAN DUMBLEDORE! I DON´T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR MONEY OR TO YOUR BLOODY BOX IN THE LAST TWENTY-FOUR HOURS, BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO CALL ME THIEF IN MY OWN HOUSE!"

"Then let´s go outside Minerva, shall we?"

Minerva approached him with a threatening look, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Look you...you old fool, I don´t know who stole you, but it was not me! I don´t need your money and you know that!"

Albus suddenly grasped Minerva´s right hand by the wrist and pressed it against the wall. Minerva winced in pain, his hand was about to break her tiny wrist in two.

"Ah!" she cried, "Albus it hurts!"

"Minerva I want that key back now! You betrayed me, now I won´t trust you again!"

"But I didn´t do it! I swear it wasn´t me!"

Albus released her hand and threw Minerva to the floor. She quickly stood up, holding her wrist against her chest with her left hand. She was trembling, and Albus noticed this. His gaze softened a little.

"Are you afraid of me?"

Minerva didn´t answer, she simply turned around and headed for her rooms where she still hadn´t unpacked. Albus followed closely behind. Minerva opened one of the bags, and from one of the inner pockets, extracted a little golden key. She handed it to Albus, who took it carefully.

"Here´s your key, I don´t have your money." She stated coldly, never looking into his eyes.

"Where is the box Minerva!?"

"I don´t know what the bloody hell you´re talking about!" she answered, her voce breaking. Minerva tried her best to hide her tears but she knew it was useless. "Search the whole house if you must, I don´t care! When you´re done, go away and never come back again!"

"Fine. I´ll do that."

"Fine."

Albus started with Minerva´s room; he didn´t find anything so he went outside to continue with the rest of the house, leaving Minerva all to herself. Minerva instantly threw herself on the bed, burying her face on the pillow. What was the matter with him? She had confessed her love for the man the previous day and now she was seriously doubting her love for him. _How can he think I stole him!? I´ve worked for him for almost fifty years, I´ve been his right hand and his friend..._

Now, she was sure that he didn´t trust her, this whole situation proved Minerva´s point. Albus had never trusted her, and therefor had never listened to any of her suggestions. Worst of all, he didn´t love her. Since her student days, she had loved Albus in secret, and now it turned out that he hated her. It would be hours until he finished searching the entire place and she wouldn´t have to see him for a long while, so Minerva cried her heart out.

TBC.

A/N:Happy New Year for everyone!!! Liked it?Please R&R and let me know!:)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine: That night...

Albus searched the house for hours, but he found nothing. He gazed up at the clock that hung from the kitchen wall. It was two o´clock in the morning and he still hadn´t finished searching the whole house, but he was exhausted. Albus exited the kitchen and headed for Minerva´s room which was on the upper floor. He went up the stairs and walked along a narrow corridor. He had to try a few doors because he didn´t quite remember which of them led to Minerva´s room, but he finally found it.

He opened the door, trying not to make much noise. However, as he entered the room he noticed that Minerva wasn´t sleeping; from where he stood, Albus could hear her sobbing. In less than a second, a stab of pain across his chest almost cut his breathing and Albus realised about what he had done. He instantly regretted having yelled at her, hurt her and most of all not trusted her. He hadn´t trusted _Minerva,_ _she_ who had worked for him for 48 long years, his Deputy, his friend and colleague and the woman he loved. It hurt to know that he had made her cry like this, that he had searched her house and that he had probably lost her forever now...

He approached the bed slowly, and as he did so he heard her sobs more and more clearly. Her figure lay upon the bed, facing the opposite direction, her hair spread across the pillow and her body shaking. He sat on the edge of the bed.

"Minerva?"

She turned round to face him.

"What do you want?" she asked coldly, "Haven´t you hurt me enough today?"

A lonely tear run down Albus´ cheek.

He didn´t answer, he just took her right hand in his and kissed her wrist softly, gently caressing it with his fingers, as if trying to relieve the pain he had caused earlier.

"Min, I...I didn´t- I wasn´t thinking-"

She pulled her hand from his grasp.

"Clearly you weren´t." She stated.

"But Minerva-"

"It´s Miss McGonagall for you, Mr. Dumbledore. Are you done with your investigation? or must you also check my nightgown and my bed in case I´m hidding something?"

Albus´ gaze instantly dropped as he tried to supress the tears that threatened to escape his eyes once more. He was so embarrassed...so ashamed, how could he do this to her?

"I´m sorry Minerva."

"You have no right to do what you did. And let me just say that what I said yesteday was a huge mistake, I´m not in love with you and I never will be. Now, leave at once!" Minerva´s tone was sharp, the same one she used to reprimand her students, he noticed.

Albus stood and was about to leave when Minerva spoke again.

"Professor Dumbledore, I thought about it, and I´m willing to continue teaching at Hogwarts if you will accept me, however I must insist that I object to cotinue being Deputy Hedmistress."

"Of course, Min- Miss McGonagall." He replied.

Albus left the room still thinking about what had just happened. He was about to walk away from the door, when he realised that he didn´t even know where he was going. Where was he going to sleep? He couldn´t go back to the castle at this time,- it was too dangerous to travel by floo- and Minerva wouldn´t lend him a bed. He looked around, looking for a chair or...just something, but the hallway was empty. _Well, I´ll just have to sleep here, I suppose, _he thought. Albus sat on the floor, staring at the door he had just closed but his eyelids felt so heavy that he finally gave up and closed his eyes.

As he tried to get some "sleep", his mind went over all the things that had taken place in the last two days. First, his most loyal friend and Deputy had decided to resign because he hadn´t trusted her. Then, the news that he had been robbed. Now, he had behaved like a complete asshole with the person he loved the most in this world: Minerva. His eyes, his thoughts, his lips, his nose, all of them longed for Minerva. He could smell the sweet scent of her skin, even when she was not right there, beside him. Her image danced before his very eyes, for he had memorized every inch of her, every curve and every gesture. The feeling of the soft skin of her wrist still lingered in Albus´ lips...

Thinking of her, Albus managed to drift into a very uncomfortable sleep: his back ached and he knew that he would regret it the following day, but the truth was that he didn´t want to part from his love, not now, not ever.

TBC...

A/N: What do you think? Please let me know!:)


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter ten: Forgive me?

Albus woke the following morning with a terrible backache; actually all of his muscles were aching. However, he no longer found himself on the hallway floor. His head was lying on something extremely soft and something was covering his whole body. He opened his eyes and discovered that he was in a large bed with white covers. His vision was quite blurry though, and he couldn't see anything beyond the bed. He instinctively reached for his glasses on the nightstand table but another hand stopped him.

"Minerva? Is that you?"

"Yes," she replied "Here, put on your glasses."

Minerva handed him his half-moon glasses and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Would you be so kind to tell me what on earth you were doing sleeping on the floor?"

Suddenly, everything came back rushing to Albus´ mind.

"Minerva…Minerva, please, please forgive me. I'm so sorry-"

Minerva sighed and closed her eyes. She opened them a second later and looked into Albus´ eyes once more.

"Albus, it was a simple question I asked you, where you or where you not sleeping on the floor?"

"Yes." He answered "But Minerva I swear to you, I swear that I never meant to-"

"Albus, please!" Minerva replied, motioning for him to stop talking. "Please don't ask me to forgive you!" she stood and started pacing along the room as she talked. It reminded Albus about the time he had supervised one of her classes, it was as if she were lecturing one of her naughtiest students. However, when she turned around to face him, he noticed she was at the verge of tears and his image of her changed completely.

"Albus, do you remember what we discussed the other night?"

Albus didn't answer, assuming it was a rhetorical question.

"I asked you if you remember?" she asked again in her harshest teacher-like voice.

"Yes, yes, of course I remember."

"Oh, so you evidently didn't care shit about what I told you!"

"No, Minerva-"

"Don't you 'Minerva' me Albus Dumbledore!" she replied angrily, "I thought that you didn't trust me, but now I've confirmed it!"

Albus was completely speechless. After all, she was right; he had treated her like…well like she was some sort of thief.

"Minerva, I know how wrong I was but please understand that I made a mistake and that I'm sorry." He pleaded.

"You know what? I should have left you on the floor!" she said, and with that she exited the room.

Albus looked around the room. She was gone. What was he going to do now? He had screwed up badly. It wasn't easy to get Minerva McGonagall angry with him, so it was definitely not going to be able to get her back. But he had experienced the sensation of losing her back at Hogwarts, and he wasn't going to let that happen now that he new what it was like. No, he had to come up with something and it had to be quick, otherwise he knew that he was going to lose her forever. The mere thought of it, made Albus jump back to his feet. He took a quick shower in the bath that was connected to the room and summoned some fresh clothing from her room back at Hogwarts. Once he emerged from the bathroom he ran downstairs looking for Minerva. He suddenly saw her sitting on a chair at the kitchen.

"Minerva I-" he called her as he approached. But he stopped talking as soon as his hand touched her shoulder. She was shivering badly and he soon noticed that he was crying.

"Minerva" he said, pulling her into his arms. She struggled to get out of his grip but he maintained her firmly in place. She finally gave up, surrendering to his sweet sent and the soft kisses he was planting on her forehead.

He lifted her chin and their eyes suddenly met. He pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back soothingly.

"Minerva, I'm sorry. I was an idiot, I know, but I couldn't possibly bear to lose you…I would…I would die if I didn't have you. I need you, I love you."

He felt Minerva shiver as he pronounced this last sentence. She gently pulled back and looked into his eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but when she had finally come up with something to say it was too late, for Albus' lips where already on hers and kissing her passionately.

TBC.

A/N: I´ve been having some problems with my computer lately so it will take me some time to update but i´ll try to do it as soon as possible.:)


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: A risky situation.

"Albus," Minerva spoke softly, suddenly breaking the kiss. "Albus, wait. This is not okay."

Minerva stood and walked towards the kitchen window from where she could see the immense garden which was currently covered with all sorts of flowers. She looked outside and sighed, trying to organize her thoughts and to fight back the impulse to go back there and kiss him again.

Albus felt like his heart had suddenly stopped beating. This couldn't be happening? He had just kissed the most amazing and gorgeous woman in the world, the one he had always loved. He had felt her lips, those soft and surprisingly talented lips of hers! He couldn't let her go, not now, not ever. He had to win her back no matter how. It was quite incredible that he Albus Dumbledore, who had defeated Grindelwald, who had fought the dark lord, he of all people, was having this trouble with one single woman. But then again, it wasn't just any woman, this was Minerva McGonagall and she was worth fighting for.

He stood and walked towards her and stood behind her, gently placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Minerva, I need you to listen to me carefully and not to interrupt me until…until I've told you everything, please."

She walked slightly away from him and turned around to face him once more, instinctively folding her arms.

"Alright, go ahead. But you better have a good explanation for all of this Albus."

"I do, I promise."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Minerva, I…you were right when you said that I ignored you, that I didn't listen to you. Harry could have been killed and I exposed him to a great danger without thinking about the consequences." He looked into her eyes looking for some sort of reaction but she seemed to be frozen, shocked in some way. Minerva on the other hand, knew she was trying badly to hold back the tears that once more threatened to escape her eyes. She felt a little ashamed, she had to admit, she had shed more tears in the last days than she had in her entire life and she didn't want Albus to think she was weak. She didn't expect to feel his hand on her cheek, his thumb gently caressing her skin.

"However, you're not right when you say that you haven't done enough to earn my trust. Minerva, you earned my trust fifty years ago…and you also won my heart." Her eyes met his, but then she slowly closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. Tears finally began to fall from her eyes.

"Please don't cry, the last thing I want is to see you cry because of me. I harmed you far too much these past days. I…I know that you love Harry and I love him as well, I just thought that…" he sighed, "I don't know what I thought."

He went back to the chair where he had been sitting moments earlier and conjured a cup of hot chocolate for himself and a cup of her favorite tea. She joined him at the table.

"When you left I didn't know what to do. I was desperate. You must know how much I love you and that I need you. I know that I hurt you Min, but you are the only thing that keeps me going, without you I can't go on." She noticed the painful look in his eyes.

"I was sitting in my office when Severus came in. He said ha had been reading the Prophet and he told me the whole story."

"W-what story?" she asked.

"You mean you didn't read it?"

"No! Albus that bloody thing calls you a liar, a _threat to the magical world_ and you expect me to read it?"

Albus was quite touched by the fact that she didn't read it just because it talked nonsense about Harry and himself. He reached for her hand across the table and took it in his own.

"Minerva, someone broke into my vault the other day. Someone stole my money and a box of inestimable value that lay inside as well. The thing is that that person had the key to my vault."

"But the only one who's got a key-" she stopped talking.

"Yes, you."

"But Albus, I didn't- you know I didn't do it right?"

"Yes, now I know my love."

"But, how is it possible?"

"There's more to it."

"More?"

"Yes, well, the worst part actually. Minerva, everyone at Gringotts affirms that they saw you enter the bank that day and that you had the key to my vault. There's even a picture."

All signs of color drained Minerva's face.

"W-What!? Me!? But I wasn't there! It wasn't me!"

"Shhh, I know my love, I know. But we must find out who was there." He exclaimed.

"I just have one question…what's in the box, Albus?"

TBC.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The truth

Albus' heart stopped beating for a moment. Minerva noticed the sudden change on his expression, his eyes darkened and he avoided making eye contact with her. This couldn't be good; it wasn't like Albus to get this nervous about something. She lifted her hand to touch his face gently.

"Trust me Albus, please."

"I trust you Minerva, with all my heart. But this is quite a delicate issue."

"Would you rather talk about it later?"

Albus hesitated. He could use some extra time to think about what he was going to tell her, but then again he didn't want to postpone things any more. He would tell her now. He just hoped she wouldn't hex him into oblivion. He looked at her and suddenly bent forwards and catched her lips in a passionate kiss.

Minerva was quite surprised by Albus' gesture, but she was enjoying it that she couldn't deny. His lips felt soft against hers and his most talented lips made her elicit an involuntary moan of pleasure. When they finally parted Minerva realized that whatever it was that Albus was going to tell her, it was not good. He looked somewhat devastated and struggling to find the adequate words.

"I'll tell you." he answered, "But you must understand that what I-"he sighed, _how to say it?_ "Minerva, please don't…please listen carefully and try not to get completely hysterical."

She took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Albus, what is it love? Tell me."

"Minerva, do you remember when you were a student?"

"I most certainly do," she replied, quite surprised by the question, "why?"

"Well, you must also remember your mother then."

Minerva's expression changed drastically. Albus noticed the fear in her eyes, something he hadn't seen for quite some time.

"What has she to do with this?" she asked with a slightly quivering voice.

There was silence.

"Albus, for God's sake! What has Kathleen McGonagall to do with this!?"

"Calm down, Min." he paused, "You remember the ring she gave you?"

"Yes, yes! I remember all of it! Now go on!"

"You asked me to destroy it Min, and I wanted to I swear I wanted to but I thought it could be dangerous, I thought that even though Katherine was dead it could be charmed in some other way to harm you."

Silence filled the room once more. Albus waited for Minerva to react, he needed to know, was she going to hate him forever?

"Min, that ring is what's in the box."

Minerva sat there, completely dumbstruck, and scared, she had to admit. How could he not destroy it when she remembered clearly that he had begged him to do so? Had he not cared or had he really worried about her getting hurt? All of what she was feeling towards Albus could not compare to the fear that had awakened in her heart. That all too familiar sensation of being frightened and alone. In the past, it had been Albus the one who had made that feeling go away, but now she doubted that he would be able to do it again.

She couldn't help the tears falling down again, and in the middle of all that confusion she felt two strong arms lifting her from the chair and carrying her. She didn't know what to feel, she _loved_ Albus, she always had. She snuggled closer to his body, trying to find some comfort in that sweet sent that invaded her nostrils, trying to enjoy the feeling of her body against his.

Albus carried her all the way up the stairs and to her rooms, where he deposited her on the bed. She looked so fragile, so lost. Her slender body had always given him that sense of fragility but now more that ever he wanted to protect her from everyone and everything, especially himself. He lay down by her side, caressing her face, her arms, stroking her hair, kissing her hands. She wasn't sobbing anymore but she hadn't uttered a word.

"Minerva" he said, placing a tender kiss on her forehead, "Min, I love you. No matter what I love you, I hope you know that."

She didn't answer, and Albus suddenly felt that he might be losing her forever.

"I never meant to hurt you, ever. I would give my life before hurting you intentionally."

"And what about yesterday?" she finally spoke, her voice was harsh and cold, "I still can't decide whether that was intentional or not."

Albus literally felt a stab of pain in his chest at the memory of what had happened the day before. He fought the urge to cry.

"I'm not worthy of you, my love." He whispered with all the pain in his heart, "I love you, but I don't deserve you. I never will." He placed a second kiss on her forehead, but this time he lingered a bit. He got off the bed and walked towards the door.

"I'll be next door if you need me." He said, turning to open the door and leave.

"Wait," she said weakly, "please don't leave."

Albus turned back to her and walked towards the bed. He sat on the edge and looked into her gorgeous emerald eyes.

"Stay."

Albus bent down once more and took her in his arms, their lips crushed once more and he let her know how just how much he loved her. They parted after a while, breathless.

"Albus, make love to me."

TBC.

A/N: Okay hope you liked this one. Next chapter is rated M so it will be posted in that section. For those who do not whish to read it the story will continue in chapter 14 and you will not miss any relevant info.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 14: Thoughts.

When Albus woke up the following morning, Minerva was no longer in bed. He got up and put on his robes. As he changed he started thinking about all what had happened the previous night, recalling every minute of their more than wonderful lovemaking, however what had happened before that came to his mind as well. They had to figure out who the mysterious person who had assaulted his vault was and they had to do it soon for he had a conference in a few days and he wouldn't be able to face the minister and at the same time deal with this situation. He had to think...but who...and how...  
"Albus, my love, are you up?" Minerva's voice came from the hallway as she approached the room. She opened the door and let herself in.  
"Oh, I was about to join you downstairs dear, but I'm still a little sleepy I guess."  
She smiled.  
"Well, I'll just wait for you downstairs, I'm making some breakfast for the both of us so don't take long."  
Albus nodded and planted a light kiss on her chin before she returned downstairs. He entered the bathroom washed his face and his hands and went straight to the kitchen, where Minerva was already waiting for him.  
As they ate breakfast Albus kept on thinking, wondering what the motive of this whole thing was and who was behind it, however nothing seemed to come to him.  
"Albus wake up!" Minerva's voice suddenly brought him back to reality.  
"Yes Minerva, I-I'm sorry dear, what was it that you were saying?"  
She sighed and crossed her arms.  
"Albus, where's your head? What's wrong?"  
"Love, I need to know who was the person that broke into my vault, why, how and when he or she did it." He paused, "But I haven't got the slightest idea of who it could possibly be."  
"I see."  
"Are you..." he began, "no, never mind."  
"No, please Albus, ask away, you know I will tell you anything you need to know, but please trust me with this."  
He smiled at her lovingly. That night he had truly realized about how much he loved this woman and how much he was willing to give for her, he found himself falling more and more in love with her with every passing minute as if she were hypnotizing him.  
"Minerva, is it possible that someone cast an Imperious curse on you?"  
She looked at him surprised, she probably hadn't expected the question, and she considered the possibility for a while.  
"Mmm...I don't remember anyone attacking me or anything, I mean, I wouldn't have permitted it."  
"I know, but perhaps...oh, I just...I'm so confused, I can't imagine why anyone would do _this_ to me."  
"Do you think that whoever it was did it for a political reason? Perhaps they did it for the money?"  
"No, they took the box they must've known what was inside. That means that they know it's true value, what it really means to me."  
"But Albus, that ring is worthless now. You said it, Katherine is dead, she can't harm me anymore." She looked at him but he didn't but when he didn't answer she added:"Or can she?"  
He shook his head.  
"I don't think so, I made sure I cut the bond once she died but as I told you before I never destroyed it and who knows what other dark magic lays inside that ring...anything could happen."  
He looked at her and noticed the look in her eyes, she seemed to be...  
"Are you scared Min?" He stood up and sat on the chair beside her. He run his hands along her long, slender arms and softly pulled her into a hug. His hands drew small patterns on it while his lips kissed her hair, trying to help her relax.  
"I am." She admitted. "Oh, gods I'm a Gryffindor, I know I shouldn't be, but I can't help it, someone might just use its power against us and who knows what that thing can do!"  
"Mina don't say that, it's not wrong to be scared." He pulled back and cupped her face in his hands, caressing her delicate, white skin with his fingers. "You are the bravest woman I've met, and you're right to be scared, but I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you I will protect you and when I get that ring back I swear I will destroy it, even if I have to give my life to do so."  
"No! Never give your life for me, just promise me that you'll take care of yourself."  
"I will my love, I will."  
Just when they were about to kiss, a green flame burst in the fireplace and out of them emerged Severus Snape.  
"Severus?" Minerva asked quite surprised by his visit, he had never visited her before.  
"Good evening Minerva, Albus. I'm so sorry to interrupt but I really need to talk to you Albus."  
"Why? Is something wrong?" Minerva asked before Albus had the chance to reply.  
Snape looked at Albus, then back at Minerva.  
"Ehh...I'm sorry Minerva, but I'm afraid this is a...somewhat private matter I need to discuss with Albus."  
"But-"  
"Severus, whatever it is that you need to say can be said in front of Minerva."  
Snape hesitated but after a few seconds he decided he had no choice.  
"Albus, I think I know who stole from you."

A/N: Okay hope you liked this one, so let me know what you think ;)


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